TMC is an independent, primarily volunteer organization that relies on ad revenue to cover its operating costs. Please consider whitelisting TMC on your ad blocker and becoming a Supporting Member. For more info: Support TMC

Poorly researched "news" stories. As a news anchor, I'm tired of it

It seems ANY day there can be a story that's perceived as negative for Tesla, I'm reading the script on our morning news.
I have to correct and change them all the time as they seem to be full of opinion, and are slanted. I have no doubt they are copied stories from magazine and newspaper articles that have ties to the ICE industry. So this was my note to our producers this morning. Excuse it, as it was written quickly to prevent MORE such stories showing up on our air.

Producers:
The corporate media world loves anti Tesla stories (stories against electric vehicles)
Every time there is ANYTHING "wrong" with Tesla we do a story on it, complete with their slanted verbiage. Yet we never make corrections the following day when the claims are often disproved.

Today's Tesla example was about how long it took for Tesla to report an accident.

What I'm saying is these are stories that affect one vehicle at a time. Generally they are over sensationalized and are pushed by anti electric media outlets so we should be careful running them, or running them as is. Imagine if we did EVERY story that affected one GM or Toyota vehicle? We'd never have room for any other news. We only do stories on their cars if they involve thousands of vehicles.

PS, I'm not saying this because I'm a former a Tesla owner but because it's an obvious attempt to stop Tesla competing with gas vehicles, especially with their growing market share. Stories like we are running are all over the Internet and now they're making there way to local TV stations like ours, and they are pushed by the corporate world that has a vested interest in traditional car makers... be mindful.

Producers, editors, and writers respond to the feedback they receive from anchors and management. When they receive no pushback and reporters and anchors largely parrot whatever they put out then some or many will slant stuff however they want. It's human nature. It's surprisingly difficult for people to be objective and doubly so when pressed with a high workload. A good anchor who pushes back on stuff to insure accuracy and objectivity will keep them focused on producing copy that is accurate. Good on you for doing so.

PS, I'm not saying this because I'm a former a Tesla owner but because it's an obvious attempt to stop Tesla competing with gas vehicles, especially with their growing market share. Stories like we are running are all over the Internet and now they're making there way to local TV stations like ours, and they are pushed by the corporate world that has a vested interest in traditional car makers... be mindful.

Click to expand...

I was with you until you stated the motive. EV's have a very tiny market share and there's no proof that the groups you claim are behind it is fact. More likely bad reporting, sensationalism or many other reasons as to why this happens.

It seems ANY day there can be a story that's perceived as negative for Tesla, I'm reading the script on our morning news.
I have to correct and change them all the time as they seem to be full of opinion, and are slanted. I have no doubt they are copied stories from magazine and newspaper articles that have ties to the ICE industry. So this was my note to our producers this morning. Excuse it, as it was written quickly to prevent MORE such stories showing up on our air.

Producers:
The corporate media world loves anti Tesla stories (stories against electric vehicles)
Every time there is ANYTHING "wrong" with Tesla we do a story on it, complete with their slanted verbiage. Yet we never make corrections the following day when the claims are often disproved.

Today's Tesla example was about how long it took for Tesla to report an accident.

What I'm saying is these are stories that affect one vehicle at a time. Generally they are over sensationalized and are pushed by anti electric media outlets so we should be careful running them, or running them as is. Imagine if we did EVERY story that affected one GM or Toyota vehicle? We'd never have room for any other news. We only do stories on their cars if they involve thousands of vehicles.

PS, I'm not saying this because I'm a former a Tesla owner but because it's an obvious attempt to stop Tesla competing with gas vehicles, especially with their growing market share. Stories like we are running are all over the Internet and now they're making there way to local TV stations like ours, and they are pushed by the corporate world that has a vested interest in traditional car makers... be mindful.

Click to expand...

The media is generally Liberal (ask Sara Palin) and would tend to be on the "green" side of things. They certainly hammered GM on the ignition switch and Toyota and Honda. Systems such as AutoPilot are very risky, companies such as GM and Mercedes would never beta test on consumers. So when an accident occurs, they're gonna report it. Not likely you'll get a "fair and balanced" story from Fox News.

You just have to think about the states where Tesla is being given the hardest time and it's pretty clear what the motivations for these kinds of things are, I've lived in a lot of states at this point but some examples of the attitudes in places I've lived
TX: Can't buy directly but has galleries and service centers - A state where oil is a big part of the economy...
MI: Can't buy and has no galleries or service centers - The home of the big 3 in the American auto industry...

on the other end
CA: Headquarters. I test drove at the (quite large) Buena Park gallery/SC since my parents live like 10 minutes away - A state which has always been well ahead of the curve in alternative forms of energy such as solar/wind. Also home to many tech companies

Producers, editors, and writers respond to the feedback they receive from anchors and management. When they receive no pushback and reporters and anchors largely parrot whatever they put out then some or many will slant stuff however they want. It's human nature. It's surprisingly difficult for people to be objective and doubly so when pressed with a high workload. A good anchor who pushes back on stuff to insure accuracy and objectivity will keep them focused on producing copy that is accurate. Good on you for doing so.

Click to expand...

I don't agree, anchors and reporters survive by being parrots, have you ever heard the term talking heads?
if the anchors push back on the material they are given to read or if a reporter doesn't stick to the narrative being sold they will fall out of favor with management, will get crappy assignments and ultimately be fired. have you ever noticed the difference in reportage when an anchor is reporting on a live event versus the reportage after the writers/producers have ample time to script the narrative?

the power over the content presented to the public is determined by management not the anchors or reporters.

If you watch TV, you might notice that a large percentage of advertisements are for vehicles. A conspiracy theorist might say that they have been threatening to withhold ad revenue unless the related news outlet pushes negative EV news. Seems far-fetched, though.

... Imagine if we did EVERY story that affected one GM or Toyota vehicle? We'd never have room for any other news. ....

Click to expand...

No Chevrolet Volt has ever had a lithium battery fire in the wild, and there are more Volts than Teslas. Only a poorly handled NHTSA test procedure of a post-testing handling of 2 cars caused a preventative incident.

In fact, the NHTSA admits this:

...
Today, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed its safety defect investigation into the potential risk of fire in Chevy Volts that have been involved in a serious crash. Opened on November 25, the agency’s investigation has concluded that no discernible defect trend exists and that the vehicle modifications recently developed by General Motors reduce the potential for battery intrusion resulting from side impacts.

NHTSA remains unaware of any real-world crashes that have resulted in a battery-related fire involving the Chevy Volt or any other electric vehicle. NHTSA continues to believe that electric vehicles show great promise as a safe and fuel-efficient option for American drivers. However, as the reports released in conjunction with the closure of the investigation today indicate, fires following NHTSA crash tests of the vehicle and its battery components — and the innovative nature of this emerging technology — led the agency to take the unusual step of opening a safety defect investigation in the absence of data from real-world incidents.

Based on the available data, NHTSA does not believe that Chevy Volts or other electric vehicles pose a greater risk of fire than gasoline-powered vehicles. ...

Click to expand...

However, media coverage of the Volt fires makes the Tesla press seem very trivial in coverage. People to this day believe EV's are a fire risk due to over-zealous reporting before the facts where available to create a story from.

You might see Tesla as being "picked on", but in fact, Tesla gets more press per car, and more favorable press than virtually all cars sold today.

If Tesla is going to become mainstream, they need to prepare for the Media War Against Cars which have been in fashion since Ralph Nader got rich by trashing a car that handle much like a Porsche and other rear engine rwd cars. In the end, the Corvair handled better than most conventional front engine RWD cars. But it was too late. Ralphy had exaggerate the story for profit and killed a lot of jobs and made no effect on actual safety.

Hmmm...if you are going to make a statement, at least provide a credible source.

"The media" is most definitely not "generally liberal". American "media" is diverse and should not be stereotyped.

The words "Tesla", "crash", and "Autopilot" in a headline attracts clicks. It's that simple. The text in the article under that headline is sometimes, though not always, more nuanced than the headline.

Thank you for this. I, too, am tired of the rampant click bait journalism on Tesla these days. It wouldn't ordinarily bother me that much, but here's a company that's actually doing a great amount of good for the world (putting aside profit motives, of course) and pushing through new technology that should ultimately prove to be beneficial to all of humanity. Meanwhile, journalists are distorting facts and almost trying to destroy its reputation. Just despicable.

The media is generally Liberal (ask Sara Palin) and would tend to be on the "green" side of things. They certainly hammered GM on the ignition switch and Toyota and Honda. Systems such as AutoPilot are very risky, companies such as GM and Mercedes would never beta test on consumers. So when an accident occurs, they're gonna report it. Not likely you'll get a "fair and balanced" story from Fox News.

Click to expand...

Incorrect. The media is generally conservative. Notice how they played Trump rallies in full, cutting into other programs to do so, cutting into speeches by a Dem candidate to show an empty podium saying that they're waiting for Trump to begin. Ignoring completely another Dem candidate.

Incorrect. The media is generally conservative. Notice how they played Trump rallies in full, cutting into other programs to do so, cutting into speeches by a Dem candidate to show an empty podium saying that they're waiting for Trump to begin. Ignoring completely another Dem candidate.

Click to expand...

Correction, "the media" is focused on *ratings* which explains why they cut away to those rallies.

Incorrect. The media is generally conservative. Notice how they played Trump rallies in full, cutting into other programs to do so, cutting into speeches by a Dem candidate to show an empty podium saying that they're waiting for Trump to begin. Ignoring completely another Dem candidate.

Click to expand...

They play Trump rallies because any exposure makes him look bad to the rational segment of the population. Conservatives like Trump and Palin have been whining for years about the media. Thus, the birth of Fox News.

The words "Tesla", "crash", and "Autopilot" in a headline attracts clicks. It's that simple. The text in the article under that headline is sometimes, though not always, more nuanced than the headline.

Click to expand...

It's very important to recognize that there's someone who writes the article, someone who edits the article and someone who creates the headline. Try to avoid criticizing an article because the headline doesn't accurately portray the content. It's a waste of effort and would be like judging a car based on the car salesman.

They play Trump rallies because any exposure makes him look bad to the rational segment of the population. Conservatives like Trump and Palin have been whining for years about the media. Thus, the birth of Fox News.

Click to expand...

cute story, too bad it is nowhere close to being factual. fox news was around long before palin or trump.

Meta

Do you value your experience at TMC? Consider becoming a Supporting Member of Tesla Motors Club. As a thank you for your contribution, you'll get nearly no ads in the Community and Groups sections. Additional perks are available depending on the level of contribution. Please visit the Account Upgrades page for more details.